New browser seeks feedback from power users

Jon von Tetzchner, co-founder and former CEO of Opera Software, is back in the browser game with a new startup. It's called Vivaldi Technologies, of which Tetzchner is also the co-founder and CEO of, and he's just made a technical preview of his Vivaldi browser available to the public. While still early in development, it's already fleshed out with features that may attract Opera fans, like mouse gestures and a speed dial interface for displaying your favorite tabs on the new tabs page.

Don't expect a patch for WebView in pre-KitKat Android devices

If you own an Android handset running a version of the open source operating system that predates Android 4.3 KitKat, you won't be the recipient of a patch for WebView, a component of Android that developers use to display web content in their apps. WebView is also the backbone of Android's built-in browser in all versions up to KitKat. Nevertheless, Google won't spend time plugging up any security holes for WebView in older Android devices because it's "no longer practical."

Fast and slow rings receive January build simultaneously

A couple of days after its much talked about “Windows 10: The Next Chapter” event and over two months after the last official preview release, Microsoft on Friday rolled out a new Windows 10 Technical Preview build to the Windows Insider Program. A lot has changed from the last build, with the January Technical Preview containing many new features and apps (including some that are a bit too incipient to be of any real use at this stage).

Apple remains silent

Having recently ruffled Microsoft’s feathers by (responsibly) disclosing three unpatched vulnerabilities in Windows to the general public, Google’s Project Zero team has now turned its attention to the other side of the PC-Mac divide. The outfit recently spilled the beans on three zero-day vulnerabilities in Apple’s OS X operating system.

Microsoft jumped the gun on Twitter

There's a lot of buzz and excitement surrounding Windows 10 at the moment, which is understandable since Microsoft just finished revealing a bunch of extra details at a scheduled press event. However, if you direct your attention to Microsoft's Lumia Conversations blog, there's a bit of a buzz-kill for Windows Phone owners. Specifically, Microsoft said that not all Lumia Windows Phone 8 devices will see an upgrade to Windows 10, even though it previously said they would.

Free, Surface Hub, Cortana and Hololens

UPDATE: We've updated the story to include more info on Microsoft's PC gaming initiative and talked more about the tweaks to Windows 10.

Microsoft held a Windows 10 press conference today and revealed a massive amount of details from the upcoming OS and much more. After many rumors, Microsoft confirmed that Windows 10 will be free to Windows 8, 7, and Windows Phone users...for the first year, at least. The company views it as an incentive for users to quickly jump on board to the Windows 10 platform. Beyond the year, however, Microsoft hasn’t revealed any pricing details for how much the OS will cost.

Can't beat the price!

Stop whatever it is you're doing and make a fist. Make sure there isn't a living creature within arm's length, and when the coast is clear, pump your fist in the air in celebration. What are we celebrating? The fact that Microsoft today confirmed plans to make Windows 10 a free upgrade for Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows Phone 8.1 users! This is exactly the type of announcement we were hoping for, but didn't really think would happen.

The return of a classic

Patience is not only a virtue, it can save you cash as well. For example, if you held off on purchasing Theme Hospital when it came out in early 1997 in hopes that the price would come down, you can stop waiting -- Electronic Arts is giving Theme Hospital (Standard Edition) away for free via Origin, available for a limited time. You can then pocket the $5 you saved and apply it towards your health insurance deductible the next time you need to visit the doctor.

Fixes for vulnerabilities in 48 different products

Oracle today rolled out a Critical Patch Update for the month of January 2015, which contains fixes for 167 vulnerabilities found in hundreds of the company's products. The most severe of these received a score of 10.0 on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS), the highest score available -- they pertain to Fujitsu M10-1 of Oracle Sun Systems Products Suite, Java SE of Oracle Java SE, M10-4 of Oracle Sun Systems Products Suite, and M10-4S Servers of Oracle Sun Systems Products Suite.

Fancy new features graduate from beta

In case you need any added incentive to hop on Steam and play games, there's a Steam client update available that adds a few new features and a bunch of bug fixes. One of the big additions is that of Steam Broadcasting, support for which was first introduced to beta client users last month -- now it's available to the general public, allowing you to broadcast your gameplay for others to watch.